Blood Saves

I was seventeen years old and wandered past the gym at school.  When I saw that it was a blood drive, I turned left and went in.  My mom had talked about giving blood when we were kids, and I figured I probably had good blood.  I didn't know that this little left turn would become a lifelong commitment to blood donation.

I continued to give throughout college, minus a few months when I was slightly anemic from eating like a college student.  Considering my steady diet of Doritos and Three Musketeers Bars, I wasn't eating the iron rich diet my blood would have liked.  I chain donate, signing up for my next donation in the appointment book on the table at my appointment.  When I moved back home, my mom and I started donating together.  Mom has type A positive while I am O negative.  We have been turned away a couple of times, and I had to stop giving for one year after going to Zambia; but for the most part, we have been donating blood every eight weeks for the past 14 years.

I have written before about how much I enjoy setting goals and then trying to achieve them.  Whether it is paying off debt or walking long distances, it is fun to be aiming at something.  Three years ago, I did some math and figured out that I could make it to my 100th pint by my 40th birthday if I didn't have any unusual issues.  I made it a goal.  Tonight I donated my 100th pint of blood.  I was supposed to have completed it in February; but 2/3 of the way into the donation, my blood stopped flowing.  There is a time limit, at which point they give up on your pint, so I was stuck at 99 until now.



I don't want to make this post about me.  I want to make it about what blood can do.  First, a few facts:
- Every 2 seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.  That's over 43000 needs per day.
- There is no such thing as artificial blood.  If you need blood, you must get it from a person.
- If there is an emergency, and your blood type is not known, you will receive O negative.  It's the
  only one they can be sure won't kill you.
- A single car accident victim may require up to 100 units of blood.
- 9.2 million Americans donate 15.7 million pints per year.
- Because blood can be separated into components, one donation can help save up to three lives.
- Some of your blood components will be restored in your body in as little as 24 hours (plasma and
  platelets). Other components (red blood cells) will take a couple of weeks to regenerate.
- The shelf-life of blood is 42 days.  Donors are allowed to give every 56 days.

Another interesting thing to know is that, while 38% of Americans are eligible to give blood, only 10% actually do.  I read recently that if that number went up by only 2%, there would never be a shortage of available blood.  If you are reading this and have never given blood, I would encourage you to try.  Find a blood donation center and make an appointment.  They will be very nice to you and encourage you throughout the process; they'll even give you a cookie when you are finished.  You may find that it wasn't as scary as you thought and become a regular donor yourself.

I talk to my students about blood donation because, even though most of them are not old enough to give, they will be one day.  I would like to think that they will remember this as a way to help people and show God's love.  You may not have money to donate to charity, but you always have blood.  I even devote one wall of my classroom to blood donation.  The most frequent questions my students ask are "Does it hurt?" and "Do you get dizzy?"  I have experienced very little pain.  There is a moment of stinging when the needle is first inserted, coming from the anticoagulant in the needle.  After that, gravity takes over.  I have had a couple of odd instances where my blood clotted or a bit of skin was caught in the needle, preventing blood flow.  As for dizziness, that usually depends on my level of hydration.  If I drink enough water on the day of my donation, I usually have no issues at all.  On the occasions when I have not had enough water, I do sometimes feel woozy.  Once I just laid down in the middle of the kitchen floor and put my feet in a chair.  That'll teach you to hydrate, for sure.  None of that lasts longer than a few seconds.

Oh, I do get one more question from my kids pretty often.  They always want to know if I get paid.  I do not believe in getting paid to donate something I have in abundance for free.  To me, that would be the equivalent of taking my coat to the local shelter and offering to sell it to them rather than give it.  My healthy blood is a gift from God and should be treated as such.

The most important thing I want to say is this.  My blood can save a physical life, but my blood can only save your physical life.  I obviously find this important as I am writing about it, but it is not of ultimate importance.  What is of ultimate importance is the blood of Christ.  It saves your soul.  Donating blood is valuable and gives life, but receiving His blood is critical and the ONLY way to receive eternal life.